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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — child
  5. fork — in a road
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kid — to tease
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. can — a tin
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. can — to be able to
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chest — a box
  24. arm — a part of something

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com